Falling for the Dragon Prince
by stillhalfasleep
Summary: Aria is a Muggle-born witch, who lives with her late mother's best friend, and is transferring to Hogwarts in her third year. There she is sorted into Hufflepuff (though everyone says she should be a Gryffindor). Sounds exactly like someone Draco Malfoy would want to stay away from, right? Well, that's what everyone else thinks, but he can't help being drawn to this boisterous girl
1. Chapter I - The Train

**Chapter One – The Train**

 _Aria,_

 _Sorry I'm wasn't able to see you off, I had to leave for work earlier than I expected. I hope you have a good first day at school and I'll see you later._

 _You will need to board the Hogwarts Express at 11am sharp from Platform 9 ¾. I trust you will be able to work out how to get to the platform, and BE ON TIME. I will not be pleased if I have to pick you up and take you to the school myself._

 _Don't worry about your luggage, I've arranged for it to be delivered to the school. I think it's best not to have you concerned over too many things. Just don't forget your cat!_

 _I've left some money for you on the kitchen table. You can use this to buy yourself some pumpkin pasties or something of the sort on the train._

 _Be safe,_

 _S_

The red-haired girl read the crumpled up piece of parchment one more before folding it up and slipping it into her jeans pocket. She shivered and zipped her hoodie up, stuffing her hands into the pockets. _It's the beginning of September and it's so cold already. Bloody English weather._ She thought, and with a disgruntled face, looked up at the sign for Platform 9. _I've not the foggiest how to get onto this platform. He knew I wouldn't. Twat._ Her green eyes surveyed the scene before her. Nothing seemed particularly non-Muggle. Everybody was on their way somewhere or other, but they had tickets to Platform 6, or Platform 2, not 9 ¾.

'Now Draco, don't slouch. It's such a Muggle thing to do.' The girl's head snapped round at the word 'Muggle'. She saw a boy and his mother (or who she assumed was his mother). They both were pale, with pale blonde hair and pale eyes. They were a very pale family. They were both also quite attractive.

'Yes mother.'

'Have you got your ticket?'

'Yes mother.'

'Now I'm going to leave you here now. I will see you at the end of the school year.'

'Why not Christmas?' asked the boy, a confused look crossing his face.

'Because your father's taking me to France for Christmas. I told you this yesterday.' The woman hugged her son. 'I'll see you then. Stay safe.'

'Yes mother' the boy wriggled out of his mother's embrace. _How rude_ the girl thought. The boy made his way towards the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. _Ah, that must be the entrance._ The girl decided she wanted to ask the boy how to get to the right platform but before she could speak, he ran at the barrier and disappeared! Taking a chance, the girl ran at the barrier and braced herself for the impact, but was surprised when she found herself running straight through. She opened her eyes and found herself on a platform, where a gleaming red train was ready to be boarded. A sign above her head said 'Platform 9 ¾'.

She decided she would look for the boy she had seen on the platform, and quickly identified his pale complexion and blonde hair. She tapped him on the shoulder and he spun around rather quickly, like a whip.

'What do you want?

'Hi! I'm Convallaria Fortis, but you can call me Aria. I saw you at King's Cross and I wanted to say hello, but you disappeared before I could say anything. What's your name?' The girl introduced herself and stuck out her hand.

'Draco Malfoy,' said the boy, in a lazy, drawling voice, 'And what makes you think you can just befriend me because you happened to see me at King's Cross. Go away.' Aria's expression turned sour, and she withdrew her hand.

'My apologies, _Malfoy._ Sorry for talking to you, oh so great one. Next time, I will busy myself with talking to people who are dirt just like me rather than saints like yourself.' She said sarcastically, her voice full of venom. The boy looked taken aback for a moment, but his disinterested mask was quickly rectified, and he stalked off.

'For goodness sakes Ronald, don't lose that rat, he's the only one we've got and you won't get another one,' a loud, motherly voice came from across the platform. Aria turned to look and saw a large group, a family of seven redheads, a girl with bushy, brown hair and a boy with rounded glasses and messy black hair. They seemed a lot nicer, so Aria decided she'd see if they could help her out.

'Excuse me,' she walked up, and the mother turned around 'I was wondering how this whole train thing works. I'm transferring this year and wasn't really given a proper induction or explanation on how it all happens, so I'm kind of lost. Sorry to bother you, but I could do with a hand.' The woman smiled warmly at Aria, and she immediately knew she was a nice person.

'Yes dear, of course. Molly Weasley.' She extended a hand, and Aria shook it. 'These are my children and husband, and over there are Harry and Hermione. They aren't mine.' She indicated to three people, one of which was a ginger boy, the other two the people Aria had spotted earlier that stood out from the family of redheads.

'Convallaria Fortis. Pleasure to meet you. Now, how does this train thing work?' 

About twenty minutes later, Aria boarded the train and was searching with Harry (who she had had a slightly awkward conversation with when she saw his scar, in which Aria stared at Harry until the ginger twins had interrupted), Hermione, and the ginger boy she now knew as Ron for an empty compartment. The emptiest one they could find had man sitting in the corner, asleep. He was wearing tattered clothes, and his suitcase lay at his feet, gold lettering spelling 'Professor R.J. Lupin'. Aria thought she had heard that name before, but dismissed the idea.

'So, Aria, where are you from?' asked Hermione.

'I live in London,' explained Aria. 'But the house is a bit away from King's Cross. The house is kind of drab, as my adoptive father likes dark things. He mostly likes to sit inside and play Potions.' The three went quiet, as Aria was used to whenever she said she was adopted. 'Anyway, what about you? What are your families like?'

'Well, my parents are Muggle dentists, and I have no brothers or sisters. My family life isn't all that interesting.' Hermione spoke first and looked to Ron, but huffed when she saw his mouth had been stuffed with a chocolate frog Harry had given him. 'As you saw, Ron's family is very large. As well as who you saw at the station, he has two other brothers.' Ron finished his mouthful and continued the explanation,

'Yeah, the eldest is Bill. He works in Egypt doing curse breaking for Gringotts. My other brother, Charlie, works with dragons in Romania.'

'Wow, your family sounds pretty cool,' the tips of Ron's ears turned red and he grinned. 'What about you Harry?' Suddenly, the mood in the compartment became a little sombre. 'Alright, touchy subject. I won't inquire further.'

'No it's fine,' said Harry, 'My parents are both dead.'

'Oh join the orphan club,' said Aria, and again the mood became a little sadder.

'Oh, your parents are dead too?' said Hermione, a pitying look on her face.

'Nah, it's okay, no need to look so sorry. I was really little, so I don't remember them very well. My dad was a bit of a dick anyway, and my adoptive dad is amazing, so it's really okay. Shall we get back to Harry's family?'

'Alright then. I live with my aunt, on my mother's side, my uncle and my cousin. They're pretty against magic, and quite frankly I'd say they're scared of me' Harry shrugged.

'Oh, wait 'til you hear what Harry did to his uncle's sister,' said Ron, a grin on his face.

'Oh for goodness sakes Ronald!' exclaimed Hermione, 'That was serious! Harry could have been expelled. Or even arrested. Blowing up your uncle's sister is not a good idea, even if she was a despicable person.'

'You blew her up?'

'Yeah,' said Harry sheepishly, 'She was badmouthing my parents and I kind of lost control. They punctured her though, so she's okay now.' Aria struggled to contain a laugh, but couldn't hold it in.

'That's priceless!' she gasped, in between laughs. She set Ron off, and the two were in fits of laughter while Harry grinned and Hermione glared at them disapprovingly. 'You blew her up, like a balloon!'

'Goodness, you're like children, really. It's a serious matter. If Fudge didn't like Harry that much then he might've been arrested!' Hermione shook her head in exasperation and pulled a book out of her bag.

'Anyway, when will the food trolley be here? I'm starving!' Aria exclaimed, and Hermione sighed once more, burying her nose deeper into the book. 

About mid-afternoon, after the trolley had arrived and lunch had been eaten, Harry and Hermione were trying to teach Aria and Ron how to play rock-paper-scissors, when they were interrupted.

'Oh look, it's Potty and the Weasel. Back for another year of school are we?' The pale boy Aria looked up and saw the pale boy she had met on the platform standing at the door. He was shadowed by two dim-looking and very large boys, both with gormless looks on their faces. Recognition dawned on his face when he saw her, and he smirked. Aria smiled sarcastically, got up from her seat and bowed low.

'Oh Your Majesty, how good of you to grace us with your presence,' she said, injecting as much hostility as she could into her voice, 'I hope we are not troubling you.'

'Oh, I can see you _did_ go to talk to dirt, congratulations!' said Malfoy. This comment caused Ron to stand up in anger, and Harry follow suit, in case he had to hold Ron back. 'I heard about the money you won, Weasley. Did your mother die of shock?' Aria had an idea, and tuned to Hermione

'I wonder what Professor Lupin will be teaching this year,' with that comment, Malfoy took a proper look at the compartment and noticed the professor sat in the corner. His face quickly became less hostile and he decided that a fight would probably not be the best idea at the current time.

'Crabbe, Goyle, we're leaving,' said Malfoy, and with that, they left.

'Who is that?' asked Aria, 'I mean, I know it's Draco Malfoy because I met him on the platform, but he was a dick to me so I returned the favour.' The three grimaced, 'Why's he got a stick up his arse?'

'Draco Malfoy,' explained Harry, 'Is a twatty Slytherin who believes muggle-borns are scum and pure-bloods are superior.'

'Except what he likes to call "blood traitors" Bloody git.' Ron commented.

'I suppose you've been on the end of that name calling then?'

'Yeah. He thinks my family are below him even though we're pure-bloods, just because we like Muggles and we don't consider them lower than us.'

Suddenly, the train stopped.

'What's going on?' asked Hermione, as the lights blacked out. There came the sound of the door opening and closing, then someone in the compartment calling out.

'Ouch!' came a voice.

'Neville, what are you doing here?' asked Harry.

'Sorry, I got a bit scared so I tried to find you,' replied Neville sheepishly. A sudden chill was cast over the train, and Aria could see her breath in front of her face. _This doesn't look good_ thought Aria. She could guess what had boarded the train, and it wouldn't be fun. The chill became colder still, and the compartment door was opened again. Aria looked to the source of the chill, and her fears were realised. There was a black, rotting hand on the door, pulling it open. _Dementors, I knew it._

'What… is that?' Ron's voice quivered. Suddenly, Aria fell to the floor. While the others in the compartment just saw her convulsing on the floor, all Aria could see was flashes of her childhood. Her mother crying. Her mother in a hospital bed. Her father raising his wand to her. Her father in the newspapers, sent to Azkaban. Her mother's gravestone. Then the images stopped. She came to, and saw Harry lying next to her. The dementor had moved onto him. Shaking the depressing thoughts from her mind, she focused on her happy memories, and raised her wand.

' _Expecto Patronum_!' She shouted, and out of her wand came a light that chased the dementor away. Then Harry came to, and she helped him get to his feet.

'Aria? What happened?' he asked, a confused look on his face.

'Dementors. They're the guards of Azkaban,' came a voice from behind Aria. She turned and saw the man that had been sleeping in the compartment. He handed both Harry and Aria some chocolate, and told them he would be going to speak to the driver, not before giving Aria a strange look.

'Are you alright?' Ron asked. Harry was still in a daze and was staring at his piece of chocolate. Aria waved her hand in front of his eyes.

'Harry? Earth to Harry?' Harry snapped out of his trance, 'Now eat that chocolate. It helps, trust me. I know from experience.'

'What on earth was that? And who screamed?' asked Harry.

'No one screamed Harry,' said Hermione, looking concerned. Aria surveyed the carriage. Ron looked terrified, Hermione concerned, Harry shaken and Neville very pale. _Neville!_

'Neville!' exclaimed Aria. The boy looked up at Aria and a smile dawned on his face.

'Aria! How have you been? Why didn't you tell me about coming here?' Hermione, Ron and Harry looked between the two, confused at their exchange.

'Oh, my adoptive father didn't tell me until about two days ago. I thought it'd be quicker to tell you when I saw you in person rather than by owl.'

'Wait… how do you know each other?' asked Ron, his face twisted in confusion.

'Well, basically-'

'We met in Flourish and Blotts a while back and we owl from time to time,' explained Neville, quick to cut Aria off. She was confused as to why Neville didn't want his friends to know how they met, but realised he probably didn't want them to know about his parents.

'We'll be at Hogwarts soon,' said Hermione, 'We should probably put our robes on.' The girls made their way into the compartment next door, where some of Hermione's dorm mates were also getting changed, and left the boys to get dressed.

Aria was excited. She was going to Hogwarts. She was going to where her parents went to school, and her adoptive father. Where they met and made friends and studied. She was going somewhere where she felt she could be close to her parents, for the first time she could remember.

She would be happy.


	2. Chapter II - Hufflepuff

**Chapter Two – Hufflepuff**

 _(A/N: Just pretend every house has the subjects they all have to take together, for the sake of the story. And I know this isn't in the exact order of the book but I'm allowed to have a bit of artistic license to make it suit my ideas. Don't comment on this please)_

Draco Malfoy was complaining again. In all honesty, his friends were rather sick of it. Even Crabbe and Goyle, who would do absolutely anything Draco asked, were annoyed about how much Draco complained. Pansy was sick of it too. She had liked Draco the year before, but gave up after she realised they were better suited as friends. Anyway, she couldn't tell him to shut up as his girlfriend, or outright tell him she wasn't listening.

'… That stupid girl, thinking she could talk to me like that.' Pansy's head snapped round from talking to Nott about how his summer had been. Was Draco talking about a girl?

'Who's this you're talking about Draco?' she asked, her interest suddenly piqued. She shared a look with Blaise, who was sat across the table. He didn't even talk about Granger this passionately, but here he was, already five minutes into a rant about some girl.

'Just a girl I met on the platform. She was rude to me, and was sat with Potty, the Weasel and Mudblood Granger. Bloody twats the lot of them. I mean, she could have chosen better people to talk to.' He sniffed haughtily, and it clicked in Pansy's mind.

'My god,' said Pany, 'Is Draco Malfoy jealous? Has spring finally come to you?' Draco looked bewildered for a second, then he blushed a deep red and shook his head vigorously.

'No! I'm not in love with her, I barely even met her,' Pansy clicked her tongue and gave him a look that said _Oh, I totally believe you Draco_. Was he jealous?

Just then, the doors to the Great Hall swung open. In came a procession of first years. At the end of the line was a taller girl, who was clearly older than the rest of them. Her eyes found Draco's and she stuck her tongue out at him. _Pansy, don't notice. Pansy, don't notice. Pansy, don't notice_ thought Draco, but to no avail. She saw the redhead, and giggled, then indicated her to Blaise. They both started whispering and looking at her.

Sorting was the thing Aria was looking forward to most. At her old school, there were only 70 pupils in total, so houses were unnecessary and pointless. So having a kind of family at school, having people to depend on and work together with was an exciting prospect. After all the little first years had been sorted, the old man who Aria had met before the new term, the headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood up and cleared his through.

'Now, now hush. We have someone else yet to be sorted,' Dumbledore declared, 'She will be joining the third years this year from Parvus School of Charms and Spells, as her guardian wishes her to join a bigger school. Please will everyone give a warm welcome to Aria!' he beckoned her up and she stood in front of the school to polite applause. Her eyes found Malfoy, and noticed him looking moody and not clapping, while his friends were laughing at him.

'Right Miss Fortis, please come forth to be sorted,' said a rather severe woman with her hair scraped back into a tight knot. Professor McGonagall, Aria recalled her name to be, beckoned her forward to sit on a school with an old hat in her hands. Across the Great Hall on the Slytherin table, a blonde head shot up. _Fortis? I swear I once heard father mention an Edgar Fortis. He was a Death Eater,_ thought Draco. She seemed to be a confident girl, and he could admit she was quite pretty too. He wouldn't admit, however, the fluttery feeling he felt when her eyes caught his from where she was sat on the stool in front of the school.

Aria was slightly nervous. What if she was rejected by her housemates because she joined them in third year? She shook her head. Her housemates would likely be lovely people, and if they weren't, she could just make friends with people in other houses. She felt McGonagall place the hat on her head and closed her eyes tightly.

'Well, aren't you interesting?' she heard a voice say. She looked around for a speaker, then realised it must be the hat. 'You've got plenty of brains, but you're also very brave. And what do we have here? Your father was in Slytherin, and you certainly have his cunning and ambition.' _Not my father's house, anything but that,_ she thought. 'Not your father's house? You're more like him than you know. He was desperate to not be sorted into Slytherin, but I saw the potential in him and put him there anyway. You'd achieve greatness with Slytherin. No? Alright then, where should I put you then? Ah, I know! You'll be perfect here. It'd better be HUFFLEPUFF!' Aria heard the hat shout out that last word to the whole hall, and she saw one of the tables erupt into cheers. They all looked pretty friendly, so she assumed she was in a good house. She smiled, then found the boy with the blonde hair. He had a haughty look on his face, as if Hufflepuff was beneath him. Alright then, if Hufflepuff was such a detestable house for him to be in, she'd make sure she proved him wrong!

After a succulent meal, Aria followed the boy saying 'Hufflepuffs this way!' until they came to a pile of barrels. She had noticed that they had walked past what appeared to be the kitchens on the way. They were just down the corridor, and Aria knew she should remember that for when she felt peckish and wanted some midnight snacks.

'Now,' said the boy she had been following, 'This is how you get in. You have to knock on this barrel here to the rhythm of "Helga Hufflepuff" and it will open.' He raised his hand to a barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row and tapped five times. It swung open and they made their way down an earthy passage until they entered a round, low-ceilinged room, with a real air of warmth and cosiness. It was decorated in what appeared to be the house colours of black and yellow, with bright, bumblebee yellow walls and honey-coloured wooden furniture and doors. There were many plants in the room, and Aria guessed that the head of house must be the Herbology teacher. Cacti were dotted around the room on shelves made to fit the circular shape of the room, and they would wave at house member and dance every so often. There were also copper bottomed plant holders dangling from the ceiling so that every now and again someone would be brushed by ivy or tendrils. Above the wooden mantelpiece was a painting of a smiling woman holding a cup with two handles, which she was using to toast to the new students as a way of congratulation. There were also circular windows, from which grass and dandelions blowing in the wind could be seen and Aria guessed that in the daytime, walking feet would also be able to be seen. 'There's something else important I have to tell you. If you tap the wrong barrel, or tap the wrong rhythm, one of the barrels will open and spurt vinegar onto you. This is to repel non-Hufflepuffs but I would still be wary if I were you.' That sounded like it'd be a funny sight to Aria and she giggled, but she was the only one. The first years looked positively petrified, and a scoff came from behind Aria.

'Don't laugh new girl,' said a boy who had from behind to look at her. He had sandy, blonde hair and a few freckles on his nose. His laughing brown eyes came to rest on Aria as he chided her 'I was unfortunate enough to tap on the wrong barrel and I can tell you, it took me three weeks and about thirty baths to get the smell out.' Although he seemed to be scolding her, Aria thought he was nice and saw a mischievous glint in his eye. She was sure they'd become good friends quickly.

'That was only because you weren't listening when Gabriel was telling us how to get in first year because you were too busy telling Ernie about his mother's weight.' A quiet voice said. The sandy-haired boy burst out laughing and from across the common room, Aria could see a pompous boy with blonde hair glaring at him. She guessed he was Ernie. The girl who had spoken before came around from behind Aria, where she had presumably been stood with the other boy. She was thin, with long, mousey-brown hair and watery grey eyes. She seemed to be rather shy and reserved, but had no problem with giving the boy a joke slap around the head. 'And anyway, isn't it polite to introduce yourself before you tell someone off?'

'But she was laughing at the vinegar thing!' the boy retorted in a whining voice. He sounded like a little girl telling on her brother who was calling her names.

'It was pretty funny actually,' said the girl, turning to Aria and extending her hand. 'Wendy McArthur. My friend here is Mason Adams. It's a pleasure to meet you.' Aria took the girl's hand, now glad she could put names to the faces. After a look from Wendy, Mason followed suit and extended his hand as well. Aria shook it with a smile and Mason smiled back. 'Now, it's time for bed. We can't be tired for school tomorrow.' Aria looked around and realised everyone had headed to bed while the three were talking. After much protest, Wendy convinced Mason to go to bed. He headed off to his dorms with a longing look at Wendy that he knew she wouldn't notice. Aria noticed though. As she lay in bed that night, she decided that she would have lots of fun at Hogwarts and that she thought she'd make loads of new friends.

(She also decided she'd make it her mission to get Wendy and Mason together by the end of seventh year.)

The next day when Wendy came down to breakfast, she saw the new girl (Aria?) and Mason having what seemed to be an argument. She sighed and hurried over. _I knew this girl would be trouble._ However, when she neared where the two were sat she noticed that they were laughing.

'I know right! It's great!' Aria had been sat at the breakfast table when Mason came and sat across from her. She couldn't think of anything to say so she asked, very tactfully, when he planned to make a move on Wendy. He spluttered, went bright red all while insisting there wasn't anything between them and he didn't like her like that. _Bullshit_ she had thought, but kept it to herself. Eager to change the subject, Mason had moved on to talk about breakfast, and the two agreed that deciding to have a common room by the kitchens was perhaps the best idea ever. Then Mason began telling her about the time he'd sneaked in at three in the morning to see the house-elves and get some sandwiches. He'd been terrified to find the headmaster there, but all he had said was 'Wandering down to the kitchens at this hour Mason? You must be very hungry. I am currently testing whether food tastes differently at different times of the day so don't mind me. I'm sure the elves would be delighted to give you something to nibble on if you're hungry.' They were laughing when Wendy came and sat next to Aria.

'When will you ever stop telling the story about the time you met Professor Dumbledore in the kitchens. I've heard that story so many times I could recite it in my sleep.' She grabbed a piece of toast from the rack and some butter and jam. 'Anyway, what have you all got first lesson?' she asked, buttering her toast before spreading on some raspberry jam. It turned out Mason had chosen almost all the same subjects as Aria, save from Muggle Studies. He had chosen Divination instead because "Trelawney won't notice if I fall asleep in class". Wendy hadn't chosen Divination or Muggle Studies and had decided on Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Aria guessed she wasn't much of an outdoors person. However, all three of them had Defence Against the Dark Arts first, so they all headed down to Professor Lupin's classroom.

'When are we going to cast any bloody spells?' came a drawling voice from the back of the classroom. Aria instantly recognised the owner of the voice as His Royal Highness Draco Malfoy of Pratdom. She cursed the teachers for putting every house together for compulsory subjects. She couldn't stand this insolent git. He was rude and mean and was being irritating. She had half a mind to march up to his desk and smack him round the face, but she knew getting detention on her first day wasn't a particularly good idea, so she resisted the urge. She stayed looking attentively at Professor Lupin and silently commended him on his ability to keep a calm demeanour around the arse at the back of the classroom.

'Mr Malfoy, is it? I can assure you I will be doing an assessment of your spellcasting skills promptly, but not until I have finished explaining the curriculum for this year. Now, as you have all probably worked out, we will be covering mostly how to protect yourself against magical beasts this year, so it would be useful to bring copies of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ to your lessons as well as your textbook for this year.' Then Lupin flipped the blackboard on which he had been outlining the curriculum and began writing down incantations. Aria recognised the spells he was writing down, so if this was what they had to do for the assessment, she felt confident she could pass it. 'I would like you all to attempt these spells, if you could. This will hopefully allow me to figure out who will need little assistance, and who will need quite a bit.' Aria surveyed the class, noting many horrified faces at the spells they didn't recognise. Neville's expression was particularly fearful and his face was pale. She shot him a smile and he returned it weakly. 'There will be a prize for the person who does the best as well.' Curiosity overcame her and she turned around to check Malfoy's face. Unfortunately, he was smirking and appeared to be pretty confident. Well, she'd just have to show the smug prick who was the better student.

About half an hour and an exploded Seamus Finnigan later, the class settled back down to see who had done the best.

'Well, there is someone I am rather pleased with, as she performed the task set with precision and excellence. I am very intrigued how you will get on in my class, Miss Fortis.' All heads in the class turned to look at Aria and she felt her cheeks warming a little. It was nice to be praised sometimes. 'I will see you after the lesson to give you your prize.'

Ugh, this lesson was incredibly boring. The old coot they had as head had employed some shabby peasant of a professor who couldn't teach to save his life. He was just drawling on and on about the curriculum and how they needed to study magical creatures as well as defence in their lessons. Wasn't that what Care of Magical Creatures was for? And that stupid Hufflepuff girl beat him. Weren't they all supposed to be dunderheads? Anyway, Draco Malfoy was irritated he had been beaten by a Hufflepuff. And she was a mudblood no less. He'd stuck around after the lesson to see what the prize was. No other reason. He was nearing Lupin's office when he saw Potter stood outside, trying to peep in the keyhole. Well, Draco wouldn't lower him to Potter's level. He didn't need to know what Lupin was saying to the girl because he didn't care. Totally didn't care. Not one bit.

Five minutes later he found himself with his ear pushed to the keyhole to listen in to Lupin and the mudblood's conversation while Potter was crouched on the floor listening through the crack at the bottom. They'd called a truce, just for a few minutes, as they realised fighting would just mean Lupin would find them outside and send them away. And that wouldn't help either of them find out what was going on.

'That's amazing Aria! I can't believe you learned that at such a young age,' Lupin's excited voice came from within the room. _What's so amazing?_

'Well, my adoptive father knew I was terrified of dementors so he taught me it as soon as I started learning to cast spells. It's become second nature to me now.' _Were they talking about the Patronus Charm?_ Draco was dumbfounded. How could a thirteen-year-old produce a Patronus? It was simply too advanced. He looked down, expecting to see Potter as shocked as he was, but found him grinning instead.

'What's so funny Potter?' he hissed. The git just smirked and shook his head.

'Why should I tell you?' Draco was about to hit Potter when they heard footsteps approaching the door. The two quickly scrambled backwards and tried their best to look casual, as if they hadn't just been listening in on the entire conversation between the professor and the Hufflepuff. The girl walked out and looked at the two boys, her brows furrowed, but she just shrugged and walked off down the corridor. As soon as she was out of earshot, Draco turned to Potter,

'What was that grin for Potter? Don't think I was going to drop it.' Potter just laughed and Draco harrumphed rather indignantly. 'I don't see what's so funny about this whole situation.'

'Nothing's really funny Malfoy, it's just I've seen her Patronus and you haven't. That's all'

'Why would I care about whether you'd seen it or not. It makes no difference to me.' Draco sniffed, but Potter looked at him with a dry look.

'Is that why you were willing to call a truce just so you could listen in on the conversation.' Potter's eyebrows were raised and his arms crossed, the perfect image of someone who thought they were such a smart alec.

'The reasons for my actions are none of your concern Potter. Now, if you will leave me alone, as I have an Arithmancy lesson to attend.' And with that, Draco swished his cloak and stalked off, leaving Potter with a look of mirth on his face.

 _A midnight snack is the best way to celebrate getting through your first day at school._ Aria was down near the entrance the kitchens with Mason and a reluctant Wendy.

'If a teacher finds us down here we'll be in so much trouble guys! Can't you just leave me out of this and go during the day? It's much better if you do. I don't want a detention on my first day back!' Wendy had been against the idea of a midnight visit to the castle kitchens ever since Aria had suggested it over dinner (sausages and mashed potatoes with peas and gravy). However, Mason had agreed a late night feast would indeed be a lot of fun, so Wendy ended up losing the argument and was forced to come along.

'Stop being such a worrywart Wendy!' Mason turned around and made a face at her, 'No one's even awake around this part of the castle at this time. We'll be fine. The only person strange enough to be here at this time is-'

'Dumbledore, yeah, we know you saw him once when he was testing his theory on eating at different times of the day. I've heard this story three times now and I've been here less than two days,' Aria groaned. She was already sick of Mason's bloody story and she hadn't been friends with him for very long. She pitied Wendy as she knew she'd have heard it many more times.

'Well sorry for being cautious. It especially doesn't look good for you Aria if you're breaking rules on your first day,' Aria turned stopped and turned around to address Wendy properly.

'Wendy,' she said, putting her hands on the shorter girl's shoulders, 'There is nothing to be worried about. If a teacher catches us (which is very unlikely as it is) I will vouch for you and say we forced you to come along. I'm genuinely not bothered if I get a detention and I get the feeling Mason isn't either. Calm down and just think about all the food we can have tonight.' The trio reached the painting of the bowl of fruit. Aria reached out to tickle the pear, and as it laughed she said, 'That was the first thing I asked for when I realised we had kitchens,' with a cheeky grin on her face. The green knob appeared and she twisted it, opening the door. The three stepped inside and were suddenly bombarded by house-elves. Aria noticed one with a tea-cosy on its head and about three pairs of socks on each foot, all mismatched. They all began twittering to the three, asking them if they wanted food, what they could do to help them and so on.

'Well, I could really have some sausages right now,' exclaimed Mason and a house-elf immediately zipped off to prepare a meal. Aria noticed Wendy being asked her preferred flavour of ice-cream (assumedly that was what she'd asked for) and then saw the house-elf that had gone to make Mason's food return to him already with a large plate of fat pork sausages.

'Excuse me miss,' Aria looked down and saw the elf with the tea-cosy hat she'd noticed before, 'but would miss like anything to eat miss? Dobby would be happy to fetch it for her.' She took in the strange appearance of the elf, with his tea-cosy and mismatched socks, before telling him she'd like some strawberries and cream. She went to sit at a table as he ran off quickly to some place Aria couldn't see, and returned less than twenty seconds later with a bowl full of succulent-looking, red strawberries with thick cream poured on top. The elf presented it to her like a trophy and she took it, thanking him.

'So, your name is Dobby?' she asked, and the elf looked at her oddly, as if he hadn't expected her to be interested, 'That's an interesting mxi of socks you have there

'Yes miss, Dobby was set free my Mr Harry Potter because Dobby was presented with a sock. Dobby is a free elf now, and Dobby doesn't have to serve Dobby's cruel family anymore.' Aria was taken aback. She had a house-elf at home called Quince, and he was so sweet. Both Aria and her adoptive father took very good care of him and she didn't see any way he could call them cruel. She hadn't realised that house-elf cruelty was still prevalent.

'Oh, I am glad to hear you are being treated well now Dobby,' Aria said, smiling at him. He beamed back at her, his ears waggling in delight.

'Well miss, Dobby's last family was truly awful. The only person who was nice to Dobby was the young master, my master's son. And the young master was only nice to Dobby when the master was not around. But Dobby almost wishes that Dobby had not left the young master, as the young master said Dobby was the only person he could trust. The rest of Dobby's family was cruel and wicked,' a look of comprehension dawned on Dobby's face and he picked up a pan from a nearby stove. 'That was a very bad thing to say,' he said forlornly, and began to hit himself over the head with it' Aria quickly rushed to wrench the pan out of his hand.

'Dobby! It's okay, you don't have to punish yourself anymore. You don't belong to that family anymore so it doesn't matter if you speak badly about them. You have no reason to be quiet.' Dobby visibly relaxed.

'Yes miss, sorry miss. It's just, Dobby finds it hard to remember, because Dobby was so used to having to punish himself miss that Dobby can't break the habit.' Aria smiled sadly at him.

'Well, can you try to remember? For me?' Dobby nodded his head eagerly and beamed.

'Dobby will try as hard as he can for miss.' Aria smiled, and Dobby asked, 'May I ask the name of miss?'

'Aria,' Aria replied, 'Well, it's Convallaria Fortis, but everyone calls me Aria.'

'Well then Dobby shall call you that too, Miss Aria.' She smiled at him, but suddenly he frowned, 'Dobby seems to remember his old master speaking of a Master Fortis, saying that he had a daughter called something strange,' Dobby inspected her with a puzzled look on his face.

'Well, I doubt that was me. There are a few families called Fortis, so I imagine it was one of those.' Aria said. Dobby pondered it for a second, then nodded.

'That must be why Dobby remembers the name, if it is common.'

'Aria! We're leaving' Mason called from the other side of the kitchen. Aria's two friends were stood by the door, ready to leave.

'Well, goodbye Dobby, it was nice talking to you!'

'It was nice talking to you too Miss Aria. If you need anything, just say Dobby's name and he will come and help you out.' Aria stood up and waved, then walked over to her friends. The three left and were silent on the way back to the dorms, too tired to do anything other than bid each other goodnight before they sunk into sleep. Yet Aria couldn't help but ponder the family Dobby had worked for previously. Who was so cruel to him? Who was the nice son? And why had Dobby overheard his master say her name?


End file.
